Chair-bottom.



Patented Dec. 3, I901.

No. 687,74l.

' C. C. GILGEH &. G. B. GRAFTON.

CHAIR BOTTOM.

(Application filed May 17. 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT FMCE.

CLAUDE C. G ILGER AND GEORGE R. GRAFTON, OF PITTSBURG,

, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAIR-BOTTOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,741, dated December 3, 1901.

Application filed May 17, 1901.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we,OLAUnE O. GILGER and GEORGE R. GRAFTON, residents of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Chair-Bottoms; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Our invention relates to chair-bottoms, and has for its object to provide a cobbler-seat chair-bottom which is neater in appearance, susceptible to more decoration,stronger,more durable, cheaper, and lighter and which can be more easily, quickly, and strongly attached to the chair-frame than bottoms heretofore made of leather, pantasote, papier-mach, &c.

To these ends it comprises a chair-bottom made of thin flexible sheet metal, which is provided with an integral rigid flange which flares outwardly slightly and is adapted to be splined in a groove in the chair-frame.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a cross-section through a portion of the chairframe with our improved chair-bottom attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the chair-seat, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the bottom alone.

The chair-frame may be of the usual or any desired construction and may vary within very wide limits, it being understood that the improved bottom is applicable to any character of chair, stool, or rocker and to any size or shape of frame. We have shown the same applied toa chair-having the seat frame 1; but it will be understood that the bottomis equally applicable to a frame of any other shape or construction. As shown in the drawings, the seat-frame 1 is supported on legs 2, and the chair is also provided with a suitable back 3. The chair-bottom is shown at 4 and is composed of a thin flexible sheet of tough metal, such as iron, copper, brass, 820. It is circular and is formed concave, as at 5, to form the well-known cobbler-seat. It is pro- Vided on its edge with the downturned flange 6, which is adapted to fit into the groove 7 in the seat-frame and to be firmly secured therein by the key or spline 8, which is glued or otherwise suitably secured in said groove. The flange 6 is slightly flared out, as shown in Fig. 3, so that a number of the bottoms can Serial No. 60,669. (No model.)

be nested closely together for the purpose of shipping. This flaring out of the flange 6 also enables the bottom to be put in place more quickly, for the reason that the flange will not catch on the shoulder 9 of the groove 7, but will slip easily and quickly over the same, and when the key or spline 8 is secured in place the said flange will be bent substantially at right angles to the body of the chairbottom and will hug or grasp the shoulder 9 very tightly.

The chair-bottom thus described is intended as a substitute for bottoms of leather, pantasote, papier-mach, &c., which are now exclusively used for this purpose and which are attached to the seat-frame by means of nails or tacks.

The sheet-metal bottom described may be decorated in any desired way and made to imitate leather or the other materials which have heretofore been used for this purpose; but it is susceptible to a greater variety of decorations than these other materials-such, for instance, as by plating, oxidizing, &c. It will also be strengthened by suitably embossing the same, which embossing may be done in a manner to make it very attractive. The sheet-metal bottom is stronger than those of leather or other materials, and it will not sag down and stretch or tear out, as the old materials do, thereby making an uncomfortable seat, so that its life is longer than the former. It is fully as flexible as stifl leather when secured to the seat, so that it will make as comfortable a seat, and it is lighter than wood and cheaper than any of the materials heretofore used. The flexible sheet is so thin that it practically has no mass or volume, and consequently will change its temperature quickly, so that a cold seat is not formed thereby, and it. will not absorb moisture and become damp.

The manner of attaching the bottom to the chair-frame by the flange is one of the most important features and makes it exceedingly strong and rigid, and it can be more quickly and more easily attached by the manufacturer to the chair-frame. The flaring outwardly of the flange facilitates the securing of the bottom in place, as above described, so that the bottom can be applied to a chair at a saving of three or four minutes over leather, pantasote, and similar bottoms, which must be secured by nails or tacks. This results in a considerable saving of cost to the manufacturer, besides making a stronger cobbler-seat. Furthermore, there is an entire absence of nails or tacks on the seat of the chair, leaving the surface perfectly smooth and neater and stronger than where such nails ortacks are used and without any projections which will catch and tear the clothes.

As heretofore stated, the bottom maybe varied as desired as to size and shape, it only being necessary that it be formed of thin flexible sheet metal shaped so as to form a cobbler-seat and provided with a downturned outwardly-flaring flange, whereby it is secured to the chair-frame with a spline.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of man ufactu re,a chairbottom composed of thin flexible sheet metal formed as a cobbler-seat and provided with a downturned flange which is adapted to be seated in a groove in the seat-frame and secured therein, said flange flaring outwardly slightly whereby said bottom can be easily and quickly applied to the seat-frame.

2. A chair-seat comprising a seat-frame provided with agroove having a square-shouldered Wall on the inner side, a thin flexible sheet-metal bottom provided with a downturned flange which is seated in'said groove, said flange normally flaring outwardly slightly so as to clear the square-shouldered walls of the groove, and a spline for securing said flange in said groove.

In testimony whereof we, the said CLAUDE O. GILGER and GEORGE R. GRAFTON, have hereunto set our hands.

CLAUDE O. GILGER. GEO. R. GRAFTON.

\Vit n esses:

F. W. WINTER, ROBERT C. TOTTEN. 

